Sunni rebels allegedly linked to al-Qaida were blamed for a deadly car bomb attack which destroyed a bus and killed at least 11 Revolutionary Guards today in the latest outbreak of violence to strike one of Iran's most unstable provinces. The attack took place in the Sistan-Baluchestan provincial capital, Zahedan, in south-east Iran, as the guards were being bussed to work. Witnesses said the bus was travelling in the city's Ahmadabad district when it was overtaken by a car which then stopped suddenly. The car's occupants jumped out seconds before it exploded and fled in motorcycles parked nearby. Television footage showed the bus, which had 24 passengers, reduced to a mess of twisted wreckage. The semi-official Fars news agency reported that Jundallah, a Sunni militant group widely blamed for a series of previous attacks in the province, had claimed responsibility. Iranian officials branded the incident a terrorist attack carried out by "insurgents and elements of insecurity".... http://www.guardian.co.uk

South Africa has seized its first farm - in the clearest indication yet that it is bowing to growing pressure to redistribute land to majority blacks. Black pressure groups and trade unions have been threatening to begin invading farms unless the government moved quickly to redistribute land. Among many of South Africa's 50,000-plus white commercial farmers, this first land expropriation by President Thabo Mbeki's government echoes Robert Mugabe's violent land seizures in neighbouring Zimbabwe where at least 4,000 farmers have been evicted from their land, leading to the collapse of that country's economy. But among blacks dispossessed of their land in 300 years of apartheid, the move marks the beginning of a new era to correct skewed landownership patterns....http://news.independent.co.uk/world/africa/article2268077.ece

Eighteen people have been killed in a bomb blast near a bus in the south- eastern Iranian city of Zahedan, the official Irna news agency has reported. The bomb was hidden in a car and exploded as the bus belonging to Iran's Revolutionary Guard passed by, the agency said. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/middle_east/6359971.stm

Some Chrysler Group workers may remember Wednesday as their Valentine's Day massacre. While reporting 2006 financial results, parent DaimlerChrysler (DCX) also will announce a restructuring for its U.S. unit that could close plants and eliminate thousands of jobs. By now, the wholesale retrenchment of the U.S. auto industry is hardly new. Between them, General Motors (GM) and Ford Motor (F) already have slashed more than 70,000 high-paying auto jobs through employee buyouts. Yet as recently as a year ago, it looked as though Chrysler had found the escape hatch to Detroit's troubles. While GM and Ford tanked, Chrysler rolled out some eye-catching models — Chrysler 300C, Dodge Charger and Magnum — and a powerful Hemi engine that lured car and truck buyers alike. The smallest of the Detroit automakers appeared to be the nimblest, hopscotching its way through different automotive segments to create a more exciting lineup....http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2007-02-14-chrysler-usat_x.htm?csp=34

The foreign ministers of India, China and Russia are meeting in the Indian capital, Delhi, to discuss terrorism, drug trafficking and Afghanistan. They are also assessing developments in Iran, Iraq and North Korea. The relationship between the three countries was first proposed by former Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov during a visit to Delhi in 1998. The Indian and Chinese foreign ministers on Tuesday agreed on better air links and visa restrictions. "As Russia's relations .. with China grew deeper, India-China relations .. normalised [and] Beijing and New Delhi manifested mounting interest in contacts with Russia in tripartite format on a wide range of matters of mutual interest..," Russian foreign ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin was quoted saying by the Itar-Tass news agency ahead of the meeting. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/south_asia/6358693.stm

The Iraqi government on Tuesday ordered tens of thousands of Baghdad residents to leave homes they are occupying illegally, in a surprising and highly challenging effort to reverse the tide of sectarian cleansing that has left the capital bloodied and Balkanized.In a televised speech, Lt. Gen. Aboud Qanbar, who is leading the new crackdown, also announced the closing of Iraq’s borders with Iran and Syria, an extension of the curfew in Baghdad by an hour, and the setup of new checkpoints run by the Defense and Interior Ministries, both of which General Qanbar said he now controlled.He said the government would break into homes and cars it deemed dangerous, open mail and eavesdrop on phone calls....http://fairuse.100webcustomers.com/sf/nyt2_14_7.htm